How I've missed my friends. This weekend I took Trevor Ault, his wife Paige, their baby daughter Parker, Trevor Harp and his wife Kim up to my cabin on Hat Island. I never realize how much I miss spending time with them, until I do.

Sitting on the deck at sunset, enjoying the crab we just caught.

I used to live with Trevor Harp in college. We were roommates in our fraternity and at a couple other places, he was the President and I was the VP. Trevor Ault was also in the same fraternity and I lived with him for a few great years in Seattle. Great history with both of them. Kim was a sorority girl that we partied with in college as well and I got to know Paige while living with Ault. Good people.

Unfortunately the Harps live in San Francisco and the Aults in Portland, so I don't see them as much as I should. Honestly, I'm not real good at keeping in touch with friends that live outside of Seattle, but when we are together, it's like we just saw each other yesterday.

Trevor, Paige and Parker Ault.

I'm going to try to make this an annual event.

So we drove from Seattle to Everett to go grocery shopping at QFC before catching the boat, as there are no stores on the island. The traffic was brutal so we were pressed for time. Harp took down a grocery list, texted it to Ault in the other car, he combined it with their list, and emailed each person in the group a shopping list based on store layout. One person had fruits and vegetables, another meats, liquids/sauces, etc. We bought about $250 worth of food in about 10 minutes and were at the ferry in plenty of time.

While riding the ferry over, we were informed that the water was tested and E-Coli was found. Therefore we were going to have to boil our water for everything: drinking water, brushing our teeth, washing the dishes, etc. A small inconvenience, but better that than cramps, nausea, headaches and diarrhea. Only side effect was burning our hands washing the dishes. Luckily this only lasted one evening, as the water ban was lifted the next day.

Trevor and Kim Harp stroll the beach.

We spent the weekend eating like kings and queens, reading, sitting on the deck, walking the beach, crabbing, eating crab, barbecuing, drinking beer and wine, playing golf, and watching the bald eagles that live behind the cabin. Oh, we were also entertained by Parker. She is a delightful baby girl with beautiful blue eyes. She already has a strong sense of family, helping her Mom by making sputtering noises during my back swing. But I'd have to say the most fun was just being together.

We took the ferry back to Everett and enjoyed another dinner at Anthony's Homeport. Harp impressed us one more time, by ordering "all you can eat" crab.

When I compile all the images from the weekend, I'll embed a little slide show. Here's a quick little video that Ault made of the weekend. You can also check out more images of Hat Island in my gallery.

Here's my neighbors putting out their crab pots using paddle boards.

Posted by Gary at 10:16 AM | Permalink